Speaker Burns promised transparency before redistricting. We’re waiting.
Speaker Burns promised transparency before redistricting. We’re waiting.
House Speaker Jon Burns promised hearings ahead of any redistricting process to ensure transparency and public input. Three months later, the hearings haven’t happened.
The AJC reports that promised statewide public hearings on Georgia redistricting remain unscheduled, raising transparency concerns ahead of future map redrawing.
Following calls to redraw Georgia’s political maps, House Speaker Jon Burns pledged in June that the state would conduct transparent, statewide hearings to allow voters to weigh in before any new districts were considered. However, an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that three months later, no public hearings have taken place or been scheduled.
“If Keisha Lance Bottoms wins, they’re going to push this through, and I think any promises of halting for pending litigation or transparency will be out the window,” said state Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, who is also an election lawyer. “What does potential backlash matter when you can cement your party’s power for the next generation?”